Thickener for mordants and colors



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC JOHN BURTON, OF GENEVA, ILLINOIS.

THl CKENER FOR MORDANTS AND COLORS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 245,701, dated August 16, 1881.

Application filed March 28, 1881.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN BURTON, of Geneva, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented an Improvementin Thickeners for Mordants and Colors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to calico-printing, or the process of impressing designs, in one or more colors, upon cotton cloth, but has reference more particularly to the niordants and colors used in such printing.

Heretofore the mordants-such as the me tallic salts of alum, peroxide of iron, salts of aluminium, peroxide of tin, protoxide of tin, oxide ofchrome, &C.USQ(I to make the adjective colors or dyes fast upon the cloth'or cotton have been mixed with what are technically known as thickenings, used to render said mordants of a consistence sufficient to prevent spreading upon the cloth. The colors or dyes have also been mixed with thickenings for the same purpose. The thickenings used are chiefly wheat-flour, wheatstarch, Senegal gum, glue and size, tragacanth, sulphate of lead, glycerine, and molasses. Of these starch is most frequently used in this country; but owing to its opaqueness the colors are somewhat dim or dull and the whites impure, and owing to its costly nature it is expensive.

My invention consists in combiningor mixing with the colors and mordants, in lieu of the above described substances,glucose in the liquid state, with or without the addition of starch or its equivalent. This substance being perfectly transparent and of the proper consistency to render the mordants and colors thick enough to allow printing and prevent spreading, better and more satisfactory results are obtained. Owing to the cheapness of its production as an article of commerce the process of printing. calicoes is much reduced in expense, and in practice it is found that, owing to its transparency, the whites are more pure and the colors far brighter than those printed with starch as a thickener. Further, with a starch thickener the goods, when finished, have a more or less flimsy and thin appearance and feeling, whereas the addition of glucose inlieu of partor allof thestarch causes the finished goods to have a heavy feeling and (No specimens.)

appearance, as if the body of the goods were of twice the weight. WVhen the goods are not printed, as in the case of white goods, then the glucose is simply used to give body to the goods, in the same manner that starching goods stiffens them, and it is evident that even where colors have been printed on. the goods they might be stiffened afterward with glucose, which, being transparent, will not deadcn the colors. In addition to the above facts, there is a softness in the tone of the colors which, at the same time being bright, renders them more acceptable to the eye.

I am aware that glucose has been used in dyeing,but notin thesame connection as herein set forth, for in British patent to Johnston, No. 2,244 of 1864, mention is made that glucose may be used to allow aniline colors to remain suspended or dissolved, and in British patent to ONeills, No. 2,701 of 1865, glucose or other organic substance is used to reduce the chromic acid of the bichromate of potash or of ammonia; but in none of these cases is glucose used to act as a thickener for mordants or colors generally, or to give body to the printed goods.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In the process of printing calicoes, the addition of glucose to the mordants and colors to prevent the same from spreading and render the colors bright, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. A inordant or color for calico-printing, combined or mixed with glucose to prevent the same from spreading and to render the colors bright, as and for the purpose specified.

I 3. The process for givinghody to cloth during calicoprinting, consisting in the addition of glucose with the mordan ts or colors, or both, and applying the same to the cloth during the printing, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

JOHN BURTON. \Vitnesses:

It. M. HUNTER, JAMES S. PHILLIPS. 

